Bethel Park resident Denise Tacka took an interest in yoga and Pilates after her physician recommended the exercise modalities to help alleviate her back pain when other forms of treatment were not working well. To make matters worse, she was diagnosed with bilateral hip bursitis and IT Band tendinitis, issues that only exacerbated her back pain and caused her difficulty when she had to sit or stand for more than a few minutes. She could not get down on the floor or back up without help or by holding onto a table or chair.

That’s when she looked to Kate Olson, owner of Lakeview Yoga in McMurray, with whom Tacka was already familiar, as she was a student in Olson’s restorative yoga classes. Tacka knew that Olson also was a Thai yoga practitioner and sought her help to find some relief.

“A few months ago, I had to see a physical therapist for hip issues and then began integrating Thai yoga and specific yoga poses with Kate that would correlate with the exercises that the physical therapist had me doing,” Tacka says. “Since then, my strength has greatly increased, and I even do yoga poses daily that help me maintain my mobility.”

According to Tecka through her personal experience, Thai yoga is different from other types of yoga in that the practitioner is active and the person receiving the massage relaxes and allows the practitioner to manipulate them into different yoga poses, while they also are massaging, rubbing and stretching the muscles.

Thai yoga, also called Thai yoga massage or Thai yoga bodywork, is an ancient healing art that includes elements of yoga, Buddhism and Ayurvedic medicine, according to Olson, who has been practicing Thai yoga for about a year. Treatments are performed on a thick mat on the floor.

“The client remains fully clothed, which is a question I’m often asked, and remains totally passive as the practitioner moves and stretches them into positions similar to yoga poses,” Olson notes. “It is deeply relaxing and wonderful for reducing stress and tension. The stretching elements can help clients improve range of motion and flexibility.”...